


Here With Me

by Skylin3



Category: Persona 3, Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Determination, Established Relationship, F/M, I had this idea since March but I only just now wrote it, Longing, Love, One Shot, ShuYuka and ShuMako Crossover, The OTPs, True Love, Yeah I still love shumako so what, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:13:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25663426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skylin3/pseuds/Skylin3
Summary: Makoto Niijima regretted walking out on Ren the night before his arrest. She had done everything in her power to see him set free, but no matter what she did it always resulted in another dead end. That is until she received help from a couple of strangers, a couple that could somewhat relate to her struggle.
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Niijima Makoto, Arisato Minato/Takeba Yukari, Kurusu Akira/Niijima Makoto, Niijima Makoto/Persona 5 Protagonist, Persona 3 Protagonist/Takeba Yukari, Takeba Yukari/Yuuki Makoto
Comments: 8
Kudos: 39





	Here With Me

**Author's Note:**

> Shumako Shumako Shumako Shumako Shumako Shumako Shumako Shumako Shumako Shumako Shumako Shumako Shumako Shumako Shumako Shumako Shumako Shumako Shumako Shumako Shumako Shumako Shumako Shumako Shumako Shumako Shumako Shumako Shumako Shumako Shumako Shumako Shumako Shumako Shumako Shumako 
> 
> Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka Shuyuka 
> 
> If you haven't caught on by now this is a crossover! (Maybe the spamming did its job, haha.) For real though, this is a little something that I have kept promising over the months and most recently at the end of my ShuYuka long fic. I know, it's long overdue and some of you probably don't care anymore, but I'll be honest? I just really wanted to do this. I had the idea and fleshed it out back in March, but I hadn't acted on it until now. Regardless, I guess I'm just happy to say that I finally finished it!
> 
> I do have another crossover in mind, and it'll be much longer (like long fic longer.) I won't spoil the details just yet... but the concept came from an old fic of mine that I'm currently trying to revive. (If that hasn't spoiled it, I'm not sure what will.) 
> 
> ANYWAY, I'll leave you to read now, hope you enjoy it! Until next time see ya!

Call after call, clue after clue, everything Makoto managed to get her hands on seemed to result in yet another dead end. She so desperately wanted to free Ren from his unjust imprisonment, but she didn't know how to anymore. Everyone had done their part to support him, Mishima launched a petition, gathering as many signatures as he could, Mr. Yoshida used his platform as a politician to denounce the corrupt police force, and even Ms. Kawakami had gathered the support of teachers from all over Tokyo to make some effort to free Ren. And what did Makoto have? Just the name of the person who had testified against Ren with no means of reaching said person.

Makoto sat in the booth of the small diner in Shibuya, frustrated with herself. She hated feeling useless more than anything. She wished she could've done more to keep him out of jail - to have him at her side, but she didn't. She couldn't help but feel responsible for the night they spent together on Christmas Eve, it hadn't gone like how she had planned it. 

Makoto wanted to have a stroll with Ren around Shibuya, to share a cake with him in Leblanc's attic, and to gaze up at the stars glowing in the winter night sky. But that didn't happen. Perhaps it happened in another reality, but not in this one. Instead, she questioned him feeling that he had been hiding an ugly truth from her.

_ "Ren? You're hiding something aren't you…?"  _ she had asked, fearing what his response would be. 

When no answer came from his lips, Makoto imagined the worst. At first, she thought he was breaking up with her, but when she looked in his eyes, she could tell he was hurting deep inside. She would’ve asked what was bothering him, but before she had even given that a thought, she had walked out on him. Whether it was to protect her and her friends, it still hurt so much. But none of it compared the morning of Christmas when she came through Leblanc’s door. 

She had found her sister waiting near the stools. Sae's face was riddled with surprise and guilt at seeing her younger sister. Makoto would've asked her what was going on, but mere seconds later Ren had descended the stairs. Upon laying eyes on her he had frozen in place, unable to meet her gaze. She didn’t want to believe what was happening at that moment, so she turned to Sae and dared to ask the obvious question.

_ "Sis, what's going on here?"  _

_ "Makoto… you weren't supposed to see this, I-"  _ It was rare for Sae to ever stutter, so when she did, Makoto fears only worsened.  _ "I-I'm taking him in… don't ask why I'm sure you already know…  _

Makoto’s eyes widened, as she shook her head, hoping that she had misheard her sister. But when the silence continued, tears escaped her crimson eyes.  _ "No, I don't! What's going on here?! Ren…? Please look at me… Tell me the truth, we're a team aren't we?"  _ Her tears had tasted salty that early morning as she had to witness his continued silence.

When it looked like he was finally going to talk, he simply walked past her without saying a word. He left the cafe, entered a strange black car, and left. She had chased after the vehicle hoping to get it to stop, but it was all in vain. He left her without so much as a warning. Not even a simple goodbye… 

The memory shook her to her core. It was already painful enough having to face the fact that she had no means to free him, but having the memory there as if it were there taunting her only made her angrier with herself. She felt so useless right now, she was the team’s strategist, she should’ve figured something out by now. The more and more she tried to come up with something, the more her mind clouded itself. 

Tears were threatening to stream down her face. She shook her head, before grabbing her things and getting up from her booth. She held her belongings tightly to her chest and she walked away from the small table. Quiet sobs escaped her mouth as she mouthed something to herself.

“I’m sorry Ren… It looks like I won’t be able to do anything this time... “

She kept walking with her head down, coming closer and closer to the exit of the diner. She hadn’t been paying attention to where she was going, that she ended up bumping into another person, falling flat on her bottom.

“Oh my god! Are you okay, I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there!” A woman’s voice said.

Makoto waved her hand, in front of her forcing a smile, “N-no, I wasn’t looking… I should be more careful…” she said, rubbing the lower part of her back.

“Nonsense! Here give me your hand,” The older woman offered her hand. 

Makoto took the woman’s hand and got back up on her two feet. When she finally saw the woman’s face, she couldn’t help but be taken aback by how gorgeous she looked. She had light brown hair and soft round hazel eyes. Makoto hadn’t realized she was staring for an unusually long time. It then hit her that she still had not given her thanks yet to the woman.

“O-oh, how silly of me, thank you for helping me out there,” Makoto bowed in front of the woman. 

“Don’t mention it, but are you alright? Your eyes are kinda swollen…” The woman voiced her concern towards Makoto. 

“I-it’s f-fine!” Makoto stuttered more than she meant too. “I should really get going…”

Makoto walked past the couple and almost had fully exited the diner before hearing the woman call-out to her again. 

“Wait!”

Makoto froze for a moment, she just wanted to leave, but she couldn’t help but feel rude if she ignored the woman again. “Y-yes?”

The woman had walked up towards and placed both of her hands on Makoto’s shoulders. Makoto flinched, and if it wasn’t for the endearing smile on the woman’s face right now, she might’ve reacted very differently.

“I know that look in your eyes all too well, young lady. You’re hurting for someone aren’t you?” the woman asked.

“How did you—” Makoto looked at the woman in shock before she was interrupted.

“Just call it a hunch,” the woman winked at her with a warm smile. “The name’s Yukari Arisato, that fine gentleman over there is my husband, Minato,” she said pointing to a blue-haired man standing in line for their order.

Makoto looked in the direction Yukari was pointing. Minato had waved at Yukari casually while offering a friendly smile towards Makoto. She didn’t know how to react until she felt a tap on her shoulder from Yukari again.

“Come on, let’s go have a seat,” Yukari took Makoto’s hand, bringing her to the closest booth.

Makoto found the whole ordeal to be strange. She wasn’t uncomfortable per se, but there was familiar energy coming from Yukari. It was sort of like Ann’s in a way, always curious and wanting to help in any way possible if she could. Makoto found it oddly soothing, given that she had never met Yukari until today.

“So, what’s bothering you?” Yukari asked, getting straight to the point. “I realize I might be intruding too much, but remember what I just said about that look in your eyes? It reminded me a bit of me if I’m honest…” she paused for a moment, “But it isn’t about me, I want to hear what you have to say.”

Makoto was stunned, to say the least. For a stranger that she had never met in her life, Yukari was one of the first to treat her so kindly. It surely made it easier to warm up to the idea of telling her, but she still had to be careful. She was a phantom thief even if the metaverse no longer existed. Makoto pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear before taking a deep breath allowing herself to relax.

“I just… I don’t know where I want to begin…” Makoto admitted.

“Take as much time as you need,” Yukari said in a soft tone.

“Well…” 

Makoto told her everything about Ren’s arrest. From how it happened suddenly, to her insecurities plaguing her wondering if she could do anything to free Ren, and even Shido’s lies. She made sure to leave out any details regarding their status as phantom thieves, but it didn’t seem to bother Yukari. Makoto noticed how intent Yukari had listened to her go on. She couldn’t help but smile a bit, knowing that a random stranger cared this much to give her the time of day. 

“And that’s all of it… I’m sorry if it was a mess to understand any of it.” Makoto sheepishly apologized, laughing awkwardly at the same time. 

“No, it wasn’t,” Yukari reassured the crimson-eyed girl. “I was partially right when I said it reminded me much of myself.”

“What do you mean?” Makoto asked, tilting her head curiously. 

“Well, what if I told you that I too almost lost the most precious person in my life, but in a more  _ permanent  _ way.”

The way Yukari said it, managed to make Makoto flinch. It wasn’t out of fear necessarily, but the simple thought of losing Ren forever got to her more than she realized in that instant. She was afraid to ask exactly what Yukari meant, but she didn’t have to. Yukari had continued on herself.

“I showed you Minato earlier, but back when we were second years we had been dating for a couple of months up until he had suddenly fallen into a deep coma. No one knew really knew what was going on with him. And he stayed that way for a good part of a month,” Yukari suddenly paused for a moment, remembering the painful memory. “The doctors said he was dying, but there was no explanation for it… And yet, he woke up one day, out of the blue. It was as if nothing had happened you know?”

Yukari took a deep breath. She waved a hand trying to stop herself from crying, “I’m sorry it wasn’t my intention to bring up my life story, haha,” Yukari laughed. “I guess what I’m trying to tell you is that you shouldn’t give up. Based on what you told me, it’ll only be a little longer before Ren-kun is with you again.”

“T-thank you, Yukari-san…” Makoto felt her resolve become stronger as she kept thinking of the final clue to free Ren. “You’re right… I shouldn’t give up!”

“Well, I’m glad to hear you two are getting along,” a voice suddenly spoke up.

Makoto and Yukari turned to see that it was Minato. He had a couple of drinks in hand as he placed them all on the table.

“You’ll have to excuse my wife, she gets this sudden urge to help people at random sometimes,” Minato chuckled softly. 

Yukari playfully smacked his arm before padding the seat next to her for him to sit, “You say that as if I didn’t learn it from you. Remember what you did for me at Yakushima?” 

Minato blushed ever so slightly, “I do, and I’d do it all over again if I could.”

“Am I interrupting something?” Makoto asked, feeling a bit moved, but also uncomfortable seeing the flirty couple.

Yukari cleared her throat, suppressing the redness that threatened to creep onto her face, “N-no, I’m sorry about that… But anyway as I was saying, don’t give up just yet okay Makoto-chan? I know I didn’t and look how well that paid off.”

Makoto couldn’t help but feel happy for the couple sitting in front of her. Even if her situation wasn’t a life-threatening one, there was still the matter that she could lose Ren forever to his unfair imprisonment. But now she felt much stronger about it and wasn’t about to let this chance go to waste.

Before she could even thank Yukari, Makoto noticed that the older woman had been on her phone making a call. She could faintly hear the dialing noise that’s made during a call before hearing another woman’s voice.

“Hey, Mitsuru… I need you to do me a favor... “

Makoto’s ears perked up at hearing the word favor. She would’ve asked what she was doing, but when she looked at Minato he simply raised a finger to his mouth before letting out one small request.

“Just listen,” he said calmly.

Makoto listened carefully as she heard Yukari explain the situation to this Mitsuru person. She was stunned at how quickly Yukari relayed the information without so much as making it too personal. Makoto had to wonder if Yukari had some semblance of knowing who she was, not that she had given her a clue, but it just seemed so strange.

She watched as Yukari nodded to what Mitsuru told her. A smile never left Yukari’s lips as Makoto watched her continue in her conversation. Yukari eventually hung up and turned back to her.

“Well, that was one of my closest friends just now,” Yukari began. “She has close connections with the government and let’s just say that she too has wanted to see Shido pay for his meddling in her affairs,” Yukari smiled deviously.

“And that means what exactly?” Makoto looked on in confusion. 

“Give it a few days, and you’ll finally be able to talk with the woman that testified against Ren-kun,” Yukari said, giving her a small wink.

Makoto froze in shock for a moment. Did she hear her right? The contact information she needed would be given to her just like that? Makoto didn’t know what to say. Her heart began to swell with excitement at the mere thought of being that much closer to freeing Ren. She opened her mouth to give her thanks, but Yukari let her know that it was okay.

“You don’t have to say it, truth be told you can consider it a thank you gift,” Yukari smiled.

“I don’t seem to understand what I do?” Makoto asked.

“You got rid of Shido for us. We’ve known about you, Ren-kun, and the others for a while now,” Yukari scooted closer across the table, whispering something to Makoto. “You’re part of the phantom thieves correct?”

“I-I uh, I do not know what you're talking about!” Makoto tried to dismiss her claim but did so haphazardly.

“That’s okay you can continue to pretend, but either way, thanks, you definitely saved us a bit of time having to track you all down,” Yukari teased casually. “Relax, we don’t want anything. We just wanted to confirm that you’re all good people. And today you showed me just that Makoto-chan.”

Makoto felt completely outplayed in this situation. But at the same time, she should’ve expected something from Yukari’s urge to help her. Makoto didn’t doubt that Yukari really wanted to help, but it made a lot more sense now. Makoto chuckled to herself, slowly going into full-blown laughter.

“I think you broke her, Yukari…” Minato joked, snaking his arms around his wife’s waist.

“I did no such thing… well, maybe just a little bit,” Yukari couldn’t help but find Makoto’s laughter contagious and joined her for the moment.

After the two women settled down, Makoto rose from her seat in the booth and bowed one last time to the both of them. 

“Well, I’ll be going now. I think I want to visit him and give him the news,” Makoto said with a confident look. “I can’t begin to thank you enough Yukari-san. I really do appreciate it.”

“Go to him, he’s waiting for you,” Yukari gave Makoto a nod, sending her on her way. “Oh but before you go… would you mind exchanging a chat ID? I’d love to know as soon as Ren-kun is out and about again.”

Makoto gave her a soft smile, “Sure!”

After a quick exchange of IDs, Makoto left the diner to go see Ren. Yukari felt so satisfied with herself, knowing that she made that girl happy as well as calming Mitsuru’s doubts of the phantom thieves. She leaned her head onto Minato’s chest, feeling a small moment of true relaxation was earned. Minato lowered his lips and kissed the top of her head.

“That was sweet of you, Yukari,” Minato said in a soft voice.

“Aside from Mitsuru’s thing, she reminded me of us, I just had to help her, you know?” Yukari replied happily.

“I know… I don’t think I’ll ever be able to repay Ryoji for what he did for us,” Minato looked to see Yukari had shifted slightly to look at him. “If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be right here next to you.”

“You’re such a big sap you know that?” Yukari chuckled. “But you’re right… I’m glad you’re here right now. I love you, Minato.”

“I love you too, Yukari.”

The couple leaned into a quick, but sweet kiss. For all the similarities they shared with the phantom thieves, the couple was just happy to know that they had each other. No one or anything would get in the way of that. That’s why they wish the same for both Makoto and Ren, those two deserved it, especially after what they’ve been through.

* * *

**February 13th, 2017**

* * *

Ren was standing outside Leblanc after having just arrived from juvenile detention. Being free again had never felt as good as it had for him right now. He had his eyes closed as the cool gentle breeze of late winter blew through his hair. He heard footsteps approaching him. He looked to see that it was Sojiro again. 

The man had practically become a second father to the ex-leader of the phantom thieves. He remembered how cold their relationship had been at first, but over the course of a year it had become something Ren would treasure forever. Even now, Sojiro was the one who picked him up earlier today and greeted him as if he was his son that he hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Well… Are you going to keep them waiting any longer? Go on inside, kid,” Sojiro signaled to Ren.

Ren smiled as he approached the door. He twisted the small door handle on the door, before poking inside to the relatively bright lights of the cafe. Everyone turned to see him and immediately ran towards him. Ren was excited to see all his friends back, but he was eagerly looking for Makoto. He found her standing just a bit away from the rest of the crew. He gave her a warm smile before telling her the words she was dying to hear.

“I’m back, Mako.”

His friends stood aside as they made a path for the brunette. Makoto didn’t hesitate to run up to him and deliver a kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Ren was taken aback almost falling back before regaining his balance. He deepened the kiss further. Normally their friends might’ve teased them endlessly, but they all knew how much this moment meant to them. The couple parted after a while as they continued to look into each other’s gaze. Ren opened his mouth to say something, but before he was able to utter a single word, he felt his gut get pushed in.

“That’s for not telling me the truth!” Makoto said in a restrained tone.

“I-I’m sorry… Wow, that hurt a bit,” Ren said rubbing his stomach.

Makoto relaxed as a part of her began to regret punching him, “I forgive you… But you need to stop shouldering all the burden on your own, okay?” Her tone was quite soft much to Ren’s surprise. “I want to support you, especially when you’re hurting. I know that I also am to blame for not hearing you out, but from now on we’ll get through our problems together.”

“Yeah, I agree,” Ren nodded.

“Alright, alright we’re all caught up now! Come on RenRen is back so we gotta throw a party now!” Ryuji said out loud.

Ann sighed, “Ignore him, he’s an idiot… but he is my idiot.”

“What was that?” Ryuji pretended to be upset, but the mood of Ren’s return just didn’t let him.

Everyone collectively laughed aloud as they all began to talk and catch up with Ren. The day went on as it slowly became nighttime. Makoto found herself needing a quick break as she lit up her phone to write a message.

**Makoto:** Hey, Yukari-san! I hope it’s not too late for you, but Ren is back with us now!

A response came almost immediately after Makoto had sent her message.

**Yukari:** That’s great to hear Makoto-chan! I’m glad he’s there with you now. Please make sure to treasure him, I know I still do with Minato! :)

**Makoto:** I will! Thank you so much again! I hope I get to see you guys soon!

**Yukari:** Same here! We’ll let you know if we’re in the area sometime!

Makoto let out a deep sigh of relief knowing that everything was finally back to normal. She had Ren at her side again, and she made new friends as well. She felt grateful that she had met Yukari that day at the diner. If it wasn’t for her she might've given up. Maybe that last part wasn’t true, but it would have been a much longer process in the end. Before she could think about it more she heard Ryuji’s voice reach out to her.

“Hey, Makoto come on hurry up! We’re about to play darts, couples edition! Ren might need help from his girlfriend!” Ryuji teased as he threw an arm over Ren’s neck.

She laughed to herself quietly before catching up with Ren, Ryuji, and Ann. The night went on as they all shared laughs and smiles for the remainder of the party. Although the gathering was fun, Makoto was more excited for tomorrow’s date. It was going to her first valentine’s with someone, so she knew she had to make it extra special for Ren. For now, she just had to share him with the others, and that was okay because, in the end, he was where he belonged - with her.

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn't planning on adding anything here, but now that I think about it... The title is actually part of the lyrics to Memories of You, haha! More specifically sapphire's version and a very rough translation of the original.
> 
> Anyway, that's all. Hope you liked this small piece! Now to go to work on that long fic since as of now... My list is clear! See ya!


End file.
